OREANDA-NEWS Porsche, in partnership with the trading conglomerate Sime Darby, opened a factory in the Malaysian city of Kulim, which became the first company in the history of the Stuttgart brand located outside Europe. Prior to that, Porsche cars were produced only at factories in Germany, Slovakia and Finland.

At the initial stage, Porsche cars will be produced in Malaysia for the domestic market, and in the future the company will establish exports to other Asian countries. The staff of the new plant consists entirely of Malaysians who have undergone special training.

At the moment, production of only one modification of the Porsche Cayenne has been established here — a crossover with a three-liter six-cylinder engine with a capacity of 340 hp. Cars are still produced by the large-node assembly method, however, most of the key components, including the front and rear axle assemblies from ZF and interior elements from Clarion, are produced locally.

Thanks to this, the cost of a locally assembled Porsche Cayenne starts at 550 thousand Malaysian ringgit ($130,6 thousand), which is 113 thousand ringgit ($26,8 thousand) less than the European version. The basic equipment of the Malaysian-made Porsche Cayenne has become richer and includes LED optics, 21-inch alloy wheels, four-zone climate control, front seats with electric adjustments in 14 directions, a Bose audio system and an infotainment complex with a 12-inch touchscreen display.